Alice Returns
by GLaDOS19
Summary: Alice returns to Wonderland at the age of 19 to find freedom from the oppression of women only to find that her childhood fantasy has changed much from when she was a child. She will fight, love, and discover curious things in this darker Wonderland...


(Note: Yes, I know, the new Tim Burton Alice came out and people will say I'm copying but I'm not, I'm combining elements from all versions of Alice in Wonderland, the Disney movie, the Burton movie, the books, the Looking Glass War books, it's gonna be all over, but I just wanted to make my own version so we'll see how it goes!

Warning: Will probably include violence, maybe some language, possibly some sexual themes later on I haven't decided yet…

Summary: Alice returns to Wonderland to find things are much different than she remembered…

Disclaimer: I own nothing. Except me and my creative mind…)

Alice Returns

Chapter One

It had been 10 years since Alice Liddell had been to her world. She was 17 years old now, a young woman, and she had no business in a world of her imagination. Although she thought fondly of it at times, she knew it was better if she didn't revisit her childhood Wonderland. She was busy with Charm School, and seriousness had been drilled into her at every moment. Although it had been years since her last trip to her Wonderland, and almost all of her happiness had squeezed out of her in Charm School, whenever she looked back on those days, her eyes would get a light in them that couldn't be extinguished, and her smile could blind any man with love in an instant. She had grown very attractive as she grew up, with long, beautiful white blonde hair tamed by a black ribbon, porcelain skin as creamy as milk, and blue eyes that reflected a certain intelligence unusual for a woman. Her usual attire had evolved a bit from when she was young, but she still preferred a simple blue dress and a white pinafore over anything, as it was attractive on her, and the pinafore was wonderful for storing things. Although her attractiveness was not to be debated, she never could entertain a male for long. Her independence and intelligence would scare them off, and although Charm School would try to beat that out of her, she refused to let it go.

The rejection of the young men made her sad at times, but Alice knew that somewhere there was someone who could accept her. Of course, on the worst days of rejection, she would think of her Wonderland, and how the flowers had sung and the trees were beautiful, and the residents were so very fascinating. She often considered a visit back to her beautiful world, but of course she always shook off the childish desire, and tried to focus on the real world. Her ginger cat, Dinah, was a comfort to her in these times, as she had always been, and was prone to following Alice around except for when Alice had to lock her in her room during the school day.

Things had been going smoothly lately for Alice, mostly good, with a few incidents with some of the teachers, so she hadn't expected to be called to the Headmistress' office to hear some startling news.

As Alice sat across from the stern Headmistress, she fidgeted impatiently, waiting for her to start. The Headmistress stared down at her disapprovingly saying in a shrill voice, "Alice Liddell, we have decided that you are not fit to graduate from our school in the next year. You are much too brazen and bold, and your temper is terrible, therefore, as we have discussed with your family, you shall be sent to a stricter boarding school for young women with your "unique disposition". You have two days at home to get your things together before we ship you off. Is this understood?"

Alice couldn't help but just stare at the Headmistress for a minute before exclaiming, "I beg your pardon? You're shipping me away to a school for girls with terrible tempers? My temper is just fine thank you! And as for 'brazen and bold', I can't help that my intelligence gets in the way of my submissive and polite ladylike state, and also, beg your pardon, but why should a lady have to be submissive and silent anyway? This is madness!"

By this time, Alice was on her feet with her voice raised enough that the Headmistress' glare turned very angry indeed. "You will sit down, Miss Liddell, and you shall be silent! You will go to the school, and you will become a proper young lady, even if we have to break you like a mare to do it!"

Alice shook her head in disbelief and said, "I do not belong in a school like that. I shall surely perish! I am going home now and I hope that you can change your mind by the time I come back tomorrow, or I will have to take this up with someone higher up!'

As she turned to leave the room, the Headmistress' voice washed over her coldly. "Miss Liddell, I have made my decision and your family agrees with it. There is nothing you can do on this matter, you might as well bid your family farewell and go without a fight, because if you fight us, it will make things much more difficult for you."

Tears welled up in Alice's eyes as she fled the school, racing toward her home to see if her family had really turned against her. When she reached her household and threw open the door, only her sister was there, sitting at the dining table, calmly drinking tea as if Alice's future wasn't hanging precariously in the balance. "Sister they're sending me away!" Alice cried out.

"I know, Alice," her sister said quietly, "I suggested it. You're an attractive young woman, but your personality leaves something to be desired. If you are ever going to marry then you will have to get shaped up, and this school is going to do that for you."

Alice was appalled by her traitorous sister's words, and knowing at last that there was nothing she could say or do about the matter, she ran upstairs to her room sobbing.

Her wonderful Dinah was waiting for her, mewing, purring, and rubbing Alice's legs in welcome. Alice threw herself on her bed and said to herself, "If only I was in Wonderland, I know they would accept me there!" Upon saying this, an idea formed in her head. If these days were really her last of freedom, why not throw away her grownup rules for a time, and return to Wonderland, just once more, to say goodbye to her childhood? The more Alice thought of this, the more she liked the idea, and finally, wiping the tears from her face, decided to do it.

She figured that since she was going to Wonderland again, it didn't matter what she looked like, so she yanked off her stockings and petticoats, leaving just her dress, pinafore, and black buckled shoes on. She looked at Dinah and put a finger to her lips, hoping the cat would know that it meant they needed to be sneaky, and she crept out of her doorway and down the stairs. Her sister was still in the dining room, so Alice quietly went to the kitchen, picked up a few apples, and dropped them into her pinafore pocket before silently opening the back door and sneaking out.

She was headed toward the park, where an innocent rabbit hole awaited her, and walked quickly with her head down to avoid suspicion. By the time she reached the park, her feet were uncomfortable in the shoes, and she longed to take them off. She slowed for a moment, trying to remember where exactly the rabbit hole was, and wondering if it would not only be there, but if she would fit inside of it.

But at last, past the field of daisies, next to a fallen tree, Alice found her rabbit hole and knelt by it. She unbuckled and took off her shoes, and slipped her arms and head inside the hole. It seemed to grow big enough to accommodate her, but she continued onward and crawled completely into the small hole. For a moment as she crawled, she wondered how silly she must have looked, and wondered if she should just forget all this and go back, when suddenly, she felt her hands slipping on the edge of a large hole in the ground. She gasped and looked into it, but didn't see anything but darkness. She heard a mewing behind her and craned her head around to see Dinah climb onto her back and look down past her shoulder into the hole. Dinah mewed once more before Alice reached up and pulled her down, holding her in her arms and saying, "Dinah, dear, shall I leap? If my imagination is correct, I shall land in Wonderland! If it is not, then I shall only escape my future in this hellish place on Earth. It seems to me like the decision is made for us. Thank you for coming with me this time my darling!" She hugged Dinah to her chest hard for a moment, and then tipped herself into the hole, plummeting into darkness.

*

Maddox Hatter was having tea when the thought of Alice came to him. He remembered long ago when she visited his world, and came and had tea with him and his now ex-wife, March Hare. He was much crazier back then than he was now, although his nickname of "Mad Hatter" had stuck with the residents of Wonderland from the time he started seeing things until the present. At the time that she came to him, he was deep in insanity, thinking that time itself had stopped and that he should do the same thing over and over for eternity. But after Alice left, his mind had slowly come back to being just a little insane, and he began to miss her although their meeting had been brief. March and he had separated after she realized he missed the petite blonde girl, even if he just thought of her as a friend or possibly a daughter. March was always the jealous type, never wanting him to even think about anyone but her. Sometimes he wondered if she had helped to make him so insane in the first place.

With a sigh, he rose from his cozy chair and walked across the room to a mirror by the door. He surveyed his image with a cool calculation, and tipped his large hat at himself with a smirk. He found himself to be attractive, although it slightly bothered him that his hair was pure white at his healthy never-ending age of twenty. It curled around his face in an attractive style, and it made his striking green eyes stand out even more. His clothing had changed a bit over the years to a purple velvet overcoat, with a brown striped shirt and long brown striped pants, ending with snappy red boots. His trademark of course, was the huge purple and black hat atop his head, with a 10/6 tag stuck in the brim. It had started out as an inside joke with March about his forgetfulness, but he had grown to love that quirky part of his attire, and kept it as his signature. Through the clothing, his muscular frame was visible, a frame which he had worked hard for with a daily routine of push ups, pull ups, and crunches.

As Maddox finished judging his acceptable body, there came a loud and quick knocking on his door. He went the short ways over to it, grabbed the knob, and yanked the door open. There on his doorstep at a full four feet high was White Rabbit. She was like March, one of the Metis-Leporidae species, and she had large white rabbit ears protruding from her long, wavy, pure white hair. Her skin was as pale as snow, and she had a slim figure with long limbs for her size. Her eyes were gray as a rainy morning, and her mouth and nose were the same as a rabbits. Maddox gestured for her to come in, and asked, "How can I help you on this lovely day, White?"

Formal as ever, White replied, "Mr. Hatter, it would seem that a certain human female has once more entered our realm. I'm not sure what exactly to do about that, as the new laws prohibit visitors."

Maddox's expression grew sour, and he said bitterly, "Ah, yes, the new rules. Wonderland has changed, hasn't it, my dear White?" There was sadness in her eyes as they both were quiet for a moment, remembering how the last ten years had gone.

After Alice had left their mostly pleasant world, things had taken a turn for the worse. March and Maddox had parted ways quite brutally, and March had snapped a bit. She figured the system was flawed and she was the only one who could fix it. So she snuck into the Royal Gardens one day and, quite ironically, murdered the Queen of Hearts by cutting off her head with a razor-throwing card. After the Queen was dispatched, March put herself on the throne and began a rule of tyranny and slavery. The singing flowers they all had once loved were ordered to stop their singing, and the happy residents of Wonderland were ordered to stop their playful habits and serve March's every whim. The Card Army, beginner assassins Mr. Dee and Mr. Dum, and other darker residents of Wonderland supported her power without thought, and seemed to long for the day when Wonderland would fall to darkness. When her reign of power was fully in place, March put into place some "New Rules" to "ensure the safety of all Wonderlandians". In all actuality, these rules were to protect her own arse, and they included:

No outsiders allowed in Wonderland. If any should appear, they are to be brought to Queen March so that she may dispatch of them.

Flowers are not to sing out loud, for the Queen has sensitive ears and disapproves of happy frolicking.

What Queen March wants, Queen March gets, no exceptions.

These were just a few of the many new rules put into place, all of which the penalty for was death. Maddox, however, seemed to be the exception to this rule. No matter how much he disobeyed her, March never took any measures to capture or kill him. He figured this was because she wanted him once more, and although he denied her requests to join her as queen, she hadn't used her power to force him. Yet.

Coming back to the present, Maddox asked White, "Is it really her then? The one who came so long ago?"

White gave a slow nod and replied, "Yes. It is she. She is older now than before, and she has brought another with her as well. A feline to be precise. What do you suggest I do?"

Maddox thought for a moment before saying slowly, "Well, I do believe I shall like to see her… But not yet, White. Go to her. Take Ches with you too… You are far much busier than he, and I do want her protected. See that he's agreeable. Then take her to your house and safeguard her until I think of what to do. Does this sound like a marvelous plan or what?"

White nodded slowly again, then left without a word. Maddox sighed, thinking it rude that she never said goodbye. Hopefully Ches would not choose this day to be a practically invisible grin, for he was needed greatly. His ability to hide things was valuable indeed, and over the past ten years, his fat had melted away and he was mostly muscle now, much easier to hide.

A strange vision appeared in the corner of Maddox's eye, and he sighed once more and willed the vision to go away. When it didn't, he sat back in his chair to wait it out, for it was too distracting, and he couldn't help but think of anything but that. Insanity could be annoying at times when you just wanted to think in peace.

*

Down the dark hole Alice fell, and for a moment, she thought she had made a mistake, and was falling to her death. Just as she was about to let out a death scream however, her falling slowed considerably, and then she was in the tunnel of clocks, chairs, and tea. She twisted this way and that, happy that Dinah seemed so calm in all of this. After a while of calm falling, her feet touched ground, and because Alice wasn't expecting it, she crumpled to the floor with a gasp. "Oh my, Dinah! It would appear that we made it!" A smile unlike any she had had in the past ten years lit up her face and she jumped up swinging Dinah around shouting, "We made it! We made it! Oh Dinah, darling, my escape is complete!"

She hugged the purring cat to her, and received quite a shock when her dear cat answered, "Indeed we did, Alice! Now please don't drop me. I'm quite curious to see this world you've told me about all these years!"

Alice gave a small shriek and almost did drop her poor Dinah, but managed to keep a hold on her. She stared in shock at her familiar cat, and asked slowly, "Dinah, you can talk?"

The cat nodded – nodded! – in reply and said, "In this realm, almost anything is possible, is it not? So at last I can answer your questions and finally tell you that I am quite old enough by now that your baby talk at bedtime is really unnecessary. Not that I don't appreciate that you love me to death, it's just a little old by now."

Alice blushed and accepted her wonderful cat talking as the way of this strange world. "Well I do apologize, darling, I didn't realize you minded it until now! I shall refrain from doing so in the future!"

"Oh, thank you! Sorry to be such a whiner about it," Dinah said, "I didn't mean to spoil your fun!"

"It's quite all right my dear! I don't mind! After all, this is the first time you've gotten to speak up!"

"Well, yes, that's true, seeing as you never actually took me to Wonderland before! I'm so happy I finally caught up with you before you jumped into that rabbit hole! I've never caught you before since you always ran headfirst into trouble to satisfy that curiosity of yours!"

"Why didn't you just jump after me before, Dinah darling?"

"Well I would have, but I hadn't a clue where it went! Even after you told me the stories, I was afraid I wouldn't be able to get back without you! What if I had gotten lost and left me behind? But now I see what you meant about this place! It truly is incredible, seeing as you understand me now!"

Alice laughed at her wonderful friend and said, "It is indeed miraculous! If I could, I wouldn't ever leave this place!" Her words reminded her of the ugly truth that she would have to go back to the real world eventually, although she loathed the idea. "Let's just take a quick look around Wonderland and see how everything is!"

Dinah was agreeable to this, so they walked down a quaint hallway with checkered wallpaper and clocks hanging from the walls, until they found a door at the end of the hallway. Upon opening it, they discovered a nice room that Alice knew well. There was a glass table and a glass chair, upon which a bottle and some crumpets lay. At the end of the room, near the floor, was a very tiny door, and after closer examination, Alice was surprised to see that the doorknob was not snoring as she remembered, but had a rather surly and serious expression on his face. She set Dinah down beside her and knelt before the little door. "Hello there, Sir! I was wondering if you were unlocked today and if I could, in fact, enter!"

The door glared up at her most unkindly, and in a haughty voice, replied, "Don't you have any sense about you, girl? This realm is closed to visitors upon penalty of being taken to the Queen and incurring her wrath. So no, girl, you may not enter today! Go back from whence you came!"

With that, the door closed his eyes and tilted his head away from her quite snobbishly. Alice was appalled at his behavior and the terrible news, but was not prepared to go home quite yet. She decided to ignore him and find another way out of the room. She looked high and low, but when she couldn't find any other way of getting out, she decided to try the familiar bottle and crumpets. She reached for the bottle, and on it was the familiar label, 'Drink Me'. She was lifting it to her lips when all of a sudden Dinah cried out, "The door!" It had swung open with a bang, and the bottle fell out of Alice's hands as she jumped in surprise, shattering on the ground. In the doorway, was a figure familiar, yet different at the same time. She was small and thin, with long, white wavy hair, and two long white ears protruding from her head, and wore what looked like a white silk waistcoat over some form of a silky tight second skin.

"Madame, I would not trust the food or drink that is provided here, seeing as the Queen has poisoned it to trap young curious visitors who would like to enter our realm." The strange creature said in a formal tone to Alice.

Alice watched as the creature reached into her waistcoat pocket and pulled out a silver pocket watch. "Why I remember you," said Alice in surprise, "You're the White Rabbit! Although I was sure you were a male the last time I came here!"

"I'm not The White Rabbit, my name is White Rabbit, and I was never a male, you just assumed so because of my waistcoat. Silly girl, we've no time for your nonsense, we must be going." White Rabbit's voice had become strained and she seemed to be trying hard to maintain her formal composure. She unscrewed the top ring on the watch and lifted it up to the very tall Alice. "Drink from this, the fall down the hole has made you grow far too large."

As Alice took the tiny watch she saw it was a flask in disguise, and smiled with joy. "Oh, how simply marvelous! What an ingenious idea! Why, Dinah my dear, I do hope we can find one of our very own although what I would drink from it I haven't the slightest idea!" She tipped it to her lips and drank half before quickly pouring some into Dinah's mouth as well. As White Rabbit watched impatiently she and Dinah started shrinking quickly, Alice's clothing shrinking with her thankfully.

When she was standing just a little taller than White Rabbit, the woman said, "Come now, silly girl, put down that feline and let's be on our way before the queen's guard arrives!" Alice set down Dinah and White Rabbit grabbed her hand, yanking her along through the door and into Wonderland.

(YAY! I finished my very first chapter! Comments, advice, suggestions, critiques all welcomed! Thanks for reading! :D )


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